PVL2602/101/3/2024

Tutorial Letter 101/3/2024

Law of Succession
PVL2602

Semesters 1 and 2

Department of Private Law

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please register on myUnisa, activate your myLife e-mail account and make
sure that you have regular access to the myUnisa module website,
PVL2602-2024-S1/S2.

BARCODE
 CONTENTS
Page

1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................4
2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES............................................................................................5
2.1 Purpose ..............................................................................................................................5
2.2 Outcomes ...........................................................................................................................5
3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION.................................................................................5
4 CONTACTING THE UNIVERSITY VIA EMAIL ..................................................................6
4.1 Lecturers ............................................................................................................................6
4.2 Department ........................................................................................................................7
4.3 College of Law Information Centre .....................................................................................8
4.4 University ...........................................................................................................................8
5 RESOURCES.....................................................................................................................9
5.1 Prescribed book .................................................................................................................9
5.2 Study guide ......................................................................................................................10
5.3 Tutorial Letters .................................................................................................................11
5.4 Prescribed cases ..............................................................................................................11
5.5 Recommended books.......................................................................................................11
5.6 Electronic reserves (e-reserves) .......................................................................................11
5.7 Library services and resources information ......................................................................11
6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES ...................................................................................12
6.1 The Unisa First-Year Experience Programme ..................................................................13
6.2 Companies falsely advertising Unisa services ..................................................................14
7 STUDY PLAN ..................................................................................................................15
8 PRACTICAL WORK ........................................................................................................15
9 ASSESSMENT.................................................................................................................15
9.1 Assessment criteria ..........................................................................................................15
9.2 Assessment plan ..............................................................................................................15
9.3 Assessment due dates .....................................................................................................16
9.4 Submission of assessments .............................................................................................16
9.4.1 Types of assessments (assignments) and descriptions ....................................................17
9.5 The assessments .............................................................................................................18

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9.6 The examination ...............................................................................................................18

9.6.1 Invigilation/proctoring........................................................................................................19
10 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY ..............................................................................................20
10.1 Plagiarism ........................................................................................................................20
10.2 Cheating ...........................................................................................................................20
10.3 Academic matters .............................................................................................................20
10.4 Administrative matters ......................................................................................................21
11 STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES .......................................................................21
12 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ..............................................................................21
13 IN CLOSING ....................................................................................................................22

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Dear Student

1 INTRODUCTION

Unisa is a comprehensive open distance e-learning (CODeL) higher education institution.

The comprehensiveness of our curricula encapsulates a range of offerings, from strictly
vocational to strictly academic certificates, diplomas and degrees. Unisa’s “openness” and
its distance eLearning character result in many students registering at Unisa who may not
have had an opportunity to enrol in higher education. Our ODeL character implies that our
programmes are carefully planned and structured to ensure success for students ranging
from the under-prepared but with potential to the sufficiently prepared.

Teaching and learning in a CODeL context involve multiple modes of delivery ranging from
blended learning to fully online. As a default position, all post graduate programmes are
offered fully online with no printed study materials, while undergraduate programmes are
offered in a blended mode of delivery where printed study materials are augmented with
online teaching and learning via the learner management system – myUnisa. In some
instances, undergraduate programmes are offered fully online as well.

Furthermore, our programmes are aligned with the vision, mission and values of the
University. As a result of Unisa’s commitment to serve humanity and shape futures
combined with a clear appreciation of our location on the African continent, Unisa’s
graduates have distinctive graduate qualities which include

• independent, resilient, responsible and caring citizens who are able to fulfil and
serve in multiple roles in their immediate and future local, national and global
communities
• having a critical understanding of their location on the African continent with its
histories, challenges and potential in relation to globally diverse contexts
• the ability to critically analyse and evaluate the credibility and usefulness of
information and data from multiple sources in a globalised world with its ever-
increasing information and data flows and competing worldviews
• how to apply their discipline-specific knowledges competently, ethically and
creatively to solve real-life problems
• an awareness of their own learning and developmental needs and future potential

PVL2602 is offered as a blended module.

Whether a module is offered either as blended (meaning that we use a combination of

printed and online material to engage with you) or online (all information is available via the
internet), we use myUnisa as our virtual campus. This is an online system that is used to
administer, document and deliver educational material to you and support engagement with
you. Look out for information from your lecturer as well as other Unisa platforms to determine
how to access the virtual myUnisa module site. Information on the tools that will be available
to engage with the lecturer and fellow students to support your learning will also be

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communicated via various platforms. You are encouraged to log into the module site on
myUnisa regularly (that is, at least twice per week).

2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES

2.1 Purpose

The purpose of the module in Law of Succession, is to equip students with basic knowledge,
competencies and skills to recognise the role of law of succession in everyday life and to
solve the most prevalent issues that occur in the law of succession within the South African
context. We aim to equip students with knowledge, skills, and competencies to analyse and
critically evaluate legal material (such as the Constitution, legislation, case law and
academic opinion) relating to the law of succession in order to formulate legal arguments
and to apply their knowledge to practical problems.

2.2 Outcomes

We discuss the learning outcomes for this module in more detail in the study guide but in
short, the outcomes are the following:

• Recognising the role of law of succession in everyday life

• Knowledge of definitions in law of succession

• Succession in practical context

• Solving law of succession problems

• Engaging with legal texts relating to law of succession

• Having the academic knowledge and skills to enter a career in law

3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION

Unisa has implemented a transformation charter, in terms of which the university has placed
curriculum transformation high on the teaching and learning agenda. Curriculum
transformation includes student-centred scholarship, the pedagogical renewal of teaching
and assessment practices, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and the infusion of
African epistemologies and philosophies. All of these will be phased in at both programme
and module levels, and as a result of this you will notice a marked change in the teaching
and learning strategy implemented by Unisa, together with the way in which the content is
conceptualised in your modules. We encourage you to embrace these changes during your
studies at Unisa in a responsive way within the framework of transformation.

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4 CONTACTING THE UNIVERSITY VIA EMAIL

To assist Unisa to safeguard your personal information, please ensure that you only use
your myLife e-mail account when communicating with the university. We will not be
responding to any emails sent from private email addresses.

By using your myLife e-mail account, the university has a reasonable assurance that we are
communicating with you, as your e-mail address contains your student number and you use
your login credentials to access the account.

Unisa may only communicate with a student using a private e-mail address under the
following circumstances:

• New applicants who are enquiring about information for the purpose of applying
for admission.
• New applicants who do not yet have a myLife e-mail account, because they have
been admitted but not yet registered.
• Where a student requires assistance in resolving myLife e-mail account access
problems.

Please be aware that any personal information you publish on public platforms, such as
social media platforms and WhatsApp groups, is not covered by the provisions of the
Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013. Any personal information published in the
public domain is not considered private and can, therefore, be accessed by external parties
with access to such platforms.

4.1 Lecturers

Prof J Jamneck

Telephone number 012 429-8506

E-mail [email protected]

Prof A Roos

Telephone number 012 429-8422

E-mail [email protected]
Office Cas van Vuuren 6-15*

Mr PO Matsemela

Telephone number 012 429-8392

E-mail [email protected]
Office Cas van Vuuren 6-30*

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Ms B Maboki

Telephone number 012 429 6631

E-mail [email protected]
Office Cas van Vuuren 6-21*

* Please note that your lecturers may be working at home. Make an appointment before
going to campus to see us. It is also possible to contact us via Teams.

You should direct all queries that are not of a purely administrative nature but are about the
contents of this module, to your e-tutor or your lecturer. You may contact your lecturer by
telephone, e-mail or on myUnisa. Please note that lecturers cannot assist with administrative
queries such as examination dates, examination results, aegrotat or sick examinations or
registration problems. Please contact Ms Seromo for assistance with these issues. She will
refer you to the correct department:

[email protected]

E-mail

You may send your queries to us via e-mail. Remember that we can only answer a question
if we can understand it. Write in proper language and do not use sms abbreviations. Be clear
about the topic that you do not understand and do not ask general questions without
mentioning a particular topic. Please do not type the entire question/ message in the subject
line of the e-mail as we will not be able to read it. Type your message or question in the
space provided for a message under the subject line.

When making an enquiry about the content of the law of succession, please send one e-
mail to all four lecturers at the same time. Do not write separate emails to each
lecturer. The lecturer designated to answer the particular question, will answer your e-mail.

4.2 Department

Our physical address is:

University of South Africa

Preller Street
Muckleneuk
PRETORIA

Our offices are on the 6th floor of the Cas van Vuuren building. (PLEASE NOTE that your
lecturers may be working at home, therefore make an appointment before coming to see
us.)

Departmental secretary: Cas van Vuuren 6-45

Contact number: 012-429 8418

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The Department of Private Law is part of the School of Law, which forms part of the College
of Law.

4.3 College of Law Information Centre

For college-specific queries, please email [email protected] or

[email protected]. The college can also be contacted by phoning 012 429
4718/4860/6166/3253/4428.

Please send all e-mails from your myLife e-mail account. If you send an e-mail directly
to a Unisa e-mail address, include your student number in the subject line to ensure that
your e-mail is correctly routed for an advisor for processing.

4.4 University

To contact the university, please dial 080 000 1870. Remember to keep your student number
at hand when contacting the university. The Unisa Student Communication Service Centre
will be open weekdays from 08:00 – 16:00 (South African Standard Time).

Please send all e-mails from your myLife e-mail account. If you send an e-mail directly
to a Unisa e-mail address, include your student number in the subject line to ensure that
your e-mail is correctly routed for an advisor for processing.

When making an administrative enquiry, please check the list carefully and send an
enquiry to one e-mail address only. This will ensure that there is no confusion as to who
must respond, thereby preventing unnecessary delays in the response or the email
portrayed as spam. Students should only forward enquiries to the Registrar and Deputy
Registrar in instances where those enquiries could not be resolved at other levels.

TYPE OF QUERY EMAIL ADDRESS TELEPHONE NUMBER

ICT
myUnisa [email protected] 012 429 3111 (Option 2)
myLife [email protected] 012 429 3111 (Option 2)
STUDENT ADMISSIONS AND REGISTRATIONS
General applications and
[email protected]
registration queries
College of Law [email protected]
International students [email protected]
Exemptions [email protected]
Access and matriculation
[email protected]
exemption
Re-admissions [email protected]

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STUDENT ASSESSMENT ADMINISTRATION

General assignment enquiries [email protected]
General exam queries [email protected] 012 429 8641
Aegrotat exams [email protected] 012 429 8641
Exam arrangements for [email protected]
012 429 8641
students with disabilities
Exam admission [email protected] 012 429 8641
International students [email protected] + 27 12 429 2268
Remarks [email protected] 012 429 8641
Purchase of an exam script [email protected] 012 429 8641
FINANCE
Student account enquiries [email protected] 012 429 2441/4299
STUDENT FUNDING
General student funding
[email protected] 012 441 5600
enquiries
STUDY MATERIAL
Despatch enquiries [email protected]

Contact addresses of the various administrative departments appear on the Unisa website:
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Contact-us/Student-enquiries.

Please include the student number in all correspondence.

5 RESOURCES
5.1 Prescribed book

Please do not attempt to study this module without the prescribed textbook. You will not gain
sufficient knowledge by studying from the study guide and tutorial letters only. You cannot
expect to be successful if you do not have the latest edition of the textbook. It is essential
that you purchase it.

The prescribed book for this module is:

Jamneck, Rautenbach, Paleker, Van der Linde, Wood-Bodley

The Law of Succession in South Africa 4th ed (2023)
Oxford University Press Cape Town

You must study the textbook in conjunction with your wrap around study guide. Your
study guide tells you which sections to study in the textbook.

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Where to buy the prescribed book

You must purchase the prescribed textbook by Jamneck, Rautenbach et al from a

bookseller or online. Find the approved Unisa booksellers at
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Books/Official-Booksellers.

The prescribed textbook is also available online and in electronic format and can be
ordered from websites such as Takealot or Loot or directly from the publishers (Oxford
University Press).

Please note that only the 4th edition of the textbook should be purchased.

Buy the prescribed textbook as soon as possible to ensure that you receive it timeously to
complete Assignment 01. It is imperative that you obtain the textbook as you will not
obtain satisfactory results in the assignments or the examination without the
textbook.

5.2 Study guide

For this module there is only one study guide. It is available electronically on myUnisa on
the module site for PVL2602. Please download it as soon as possible.

It is a so-called “wrap-around” study guide that guides you through the prescribed
textbook. Please note that it does NOT replace the textbook and cannot be used on its own
to study the content of the module.

Interaction between the “wrap-around” study guide and the prescribed textbook
• The textbook contains all the information that you must study.
• The study guide indicates which sections in the textbook you must study.
If you do not study these sections thoroughly and do not have a detailed knowledge
of them, you will not pass the examination.
The study guide refers you to a casebook (Cronjé DSP & Roos A
Erfregvonnisbundel/Casebook on the Law of Succession 4th ed (2002) Unisa Pretoria.)
Please note that the casebook is no longer prescribed. Most of the cases that were
previously prescribed from the casebook are discussed in the prescribed textbook. Should
you wish to read the full version of these cases, it may be found in the library or online at
saflii.org. (The Southern African Legal Information Institute [SAFLII] is an online repository
of legal information from South Africa.)
(If you do wish to buy the casebook, you can buy it from Unisa Press (unisa-
[email protected]; e-mail: [email protected]; Tel no: (012) 429-3515 / (012) 429-
2976 / (012) 429-3448 / (012) 429-3368 / (012) 429-2953).)

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5.3 Tutorial Letters

Apart from Tutorial Letters 101 and 301, you will also receive other tutorial letters during the
semester. These tutorial letters will not necessarily be available at the time of registration
but will be uploaded on myUnisa as soon as they are available or needed (for instance,
feedback on assignments or new case law).

Tutorial letters are part of your study material for assignment and examination purposes.
They are just as important as the study guide itself. Read and reread each tutorial letter and
keep it for reference purposes. Tutorial letters that contain additional study material
must be regarded as part of your study material for study and examination purposes.

5.4 Prescribed cases

It is COMPULSORY that you study the cases listed in your study guide. These cases
must be studied in conjunction with the textbook. This will help you to gain greater insight
into the relevant principles and their application. You will not be able to answer some of the
questions in the assignments or the examination without studying the cases.

The majority of the prescribed cases are discussed in the prescribed textbook. A few
are discussed in the study guide. You must study these cases to the extent that they are
discussed in the textbook or study guide.

Cases not prescribed but discussed in the textbook

You should bear in mind that the cases which are not listed as prescribed, but which are
discussed in your textbook are also important and should not be ignored. Decisions by our
courts are very important as sources of authority.

5.5 Recommended books

There are no recommended books for this module.

5.6 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)

There are no e-reserves for this module.

5.7 Library services and resources information

The Unisa library offers a range of information services and resources:

• For brief information on the library, go to https://www.unisa.ac.za/library/libatglance.

• For more detailed library information, go to
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library.

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 • For research support and services such as the Personal Librarian service, visit
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Research-
support.
• For research support and services such as the Information Search Librarian's
Literature Search Request (on your research topic) service,
visit http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-
services/Research-support.
• For library training for undergraduate students, go to
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Training.
• Lending Services: https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-
services/Lending-services.
• Services for Postgraduate students:
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Services-for-Postgraduates
• Support and Services for students with disabilities:
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Services-for-students-with-
special-needs.
• Library Technology Support: https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/techsupport
• Finding and using library resources and tools:
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/Research_skills.
• A–Z list of library databases: https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/az.php.

Important contact information:

• Technical problems encountered in accessing library online services:

[email protected].
• General library-related queries: [email protected]
• Queries related to library fines and payments: [email protected]
• Interlibrary loan service for postgraduate students: [email protected].
• Literature Search Service: [email protected].
• Social media channels: Facebook: UnisaLibrary and Twitter: @UnisaLibrary

6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

The Study @ Unisa brochure is available on myUnisa: www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies.

This brochure contains important information and guidelines for successful studies through
Unisa. If you need assistance regarding the myModules system, you are welcome to use
the following contact details:

• Toll-free landline: 0800 00 1870 (Select option 07 for myModules)

• E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

MyModule guides

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You can access and view short videos on topics such as how to view your calendar, how to
access module content, how to view announcements for modules, how to submit
assessment and how to participate in forum activities via the following link:

https://dtls-qa.unisa.ac.za/course/view.php?id=32130

Registered Unisa students get a free myLife e-mail account. Important information,
notices and updates are sent exclusively to this account. Please note that it can take up
to 24 hours for your account to be activated after you have claimed it. Please do this
immediately after registering at Unisa, by following this link: [email protected]

Your myLife account is the only e-mail account recognised by Unisa for official
correspondence with the university and will remain the official primary e-mail
address on record at Unisa. You remain responsible for the management of this e-mail
account.

6.1 The Unisa First-Year Experience Programme

Many students find the transition from school education to tertiary education stressful. This
is also true in the case of students enrolling at Unisa for the first time. Unisa is a dedicated
open distance and e-learning institution, and it is very different from face-to-face/contact
institutions. It is a mega university, and all our programmes are offered through either
blended learning or fully online learning. It is for this reason that we thought it necessary to
offer first-time students additional/extended support to help them seamlessly navigate the
Unisa teaching and learning journey with little difficulty and few barriers. We therefore offer
a specialised student support programme to students enrolling at Unisa for the first time –
this is Unisa’s First-Year Experience (FYE) Programme, designed to provide you with
prompt and helpful information about services that the institution offers and how you can
access information. The following FYE services are currently offered:

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 FYE Website
Email
www.unisa.ac.za/ Support
FYE
[email protected]

FYE1500
Post
Registration myUnisa;
Orientation Referrals to Study Skills;
other Academic &
support Digital
Literacies; etc
services i.e.
Counselling;
Reading &
Writing

To ensure that you do not miss out on important academic and support communication
from the SRU, please check your myLife inbox regularly.

6.2 Companies falsely advertising Unisa services

Some companies and social media pages have been falsely advertising Unisa online
information and various services to assist Unisa students. In the process, companies either
solicit money fraudulently from students or make money through online advertising with no
benefit to students.

These companies are in no way associated or related to Unisa.

We request that students only use official Unisa sites and platforms as any other platforms
will provide you with incorrect information and/or act illegally which will be harmful to your
studies.

Unisa will always use official communication channels (e.g. Unisa website, myUnisa, Unisa
social media platforms, myLife e-mail) to communicate with students.

Please use the following Unisa platforms for official Unisa information:

• www.unisa.ac.za
• https://my.unisa.ac.za
• https://www.facebook.com/UniversityOfSouthAfrica
• https://twitter.com/unisa
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/unisa

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7 STUDY PLAN
There is no specific study plan for this module. You must go through the work at your
own pace. How fast your own pace will be, depends on when you register, receive or
download your study material and obtain your textbook. You will only be able to master
this module if you start studying it early in the semester and if you study every day. For
some study units you will need only a few days, while you will have to spend more time
on others. Please do not underestimate the scope of this module. Work out a study
plan that will suit your study methods and will fit into the time available after your
registration. Consult the Study @ Unisa brochure on the Study @ Unisa website
(www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies) for information on how to schedule your semester.

8 PRACTICAL WORK
There is no practical work for this module.

9 ASSESSMENT
9.1 Assessment criteria

Having mastered this module, you should have developed a clear knowledge and
understanding of the law of succession and the skills to apply your theoretical knowledge
to practice in the context of problem situations in your day-to-day work environment. You
will be required to demonstrate that you can interpret legal documents in respect of the law
of succession and advise and represent parties in legal proceedings on matters relating to
the law of succession.

9.2 Assessment plan

• There are three formative assessments (assignments) for this module. You must
complete the first assessment (Assessment 01) as it gives you admission to
the examination. The first assessment as well as the second assessment count
towards your semester mark. The third assessment is an optional, self-assessment
assignment and does not have to be submitted.
• To gain admission to the examination, you will be required to submit the first
assessment (Assessment 01) before the specified due date. The second
assessment (Assessment 02) will also, like the first one, count towards your
semester mark and must also be submitted before its due date. (Assessment 03 is
optional, does not give you admission to the examination, and does not count
towards your semester mark.)
• The formative assessments and their due dates are available on the
myModules site for this module.

15
• All information about when and where to submit your assessments will be made
available to you via the myModules site for your module.
• The assignment weighting for the module is 20%. In other words, your semester
mark obtained by completing the two mandatory assignments that count towards the
semester mark, will contribute 20% to your final mark.
• Please note that you must receive at least 40% in the examination before your
semester mark will be taken into account. (However, if your mark is adjusted from
38% or 39% to 40% your semester mark will not count.)
• Also note that a mark below 40% in the examination itself, will mean that you
fail the module.
• The examination will count 80% towards the final module mark unless you are writing
a supplementary examination in which case the examination mark will count 100%
because you do not have a semester mark in such an instance.
• You will receive examination information via the myModules sites. Please watch
out for announcements on how examinations for the modules for which you are
registered will be conducted.

9.3 Assessment due dates

• There are no assessment due dates included in this tutorial letter.

• Assessment due dates and the assessments will be made available to you
on the myUnisa module page for PVL2602. We envisage that the due dates
will be available to you upon registration.

• Please start working on your assessments as soon as you register for the
module.

• Log on to the myUnisa site for this module to obtain more information on the due
dates for the submission of the assessments.

9.4 Submission of assessments

• Unisa, as a comprehensive open distance e-learning institution (CODeL), is

moving towards becoming an online institution. Since PVL2602 is a blended
module (ie online and printed), you will find information about your study
material and assessments online and will also be able to engage with your
lecturers and fellow students online. We use myUnisa as our virtual campus.
However, you will have to buy a textbook to be able to study the content of the
work.

• The myUnisa virtual campus will offer students access to the myModules site,
where information about the learning material, the tutorial letters and the study

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guide will be available online and where assessments should be completed. This
is an online system that is used to administer, document, and deliver educational
material to students and support engagement between academics and students.

• The myUnisa platform can be accessed via https://my.unisa.ac.za. Click on the

myModules 2024 button to access the online sites for the modules that you are
registered for.

• The university undertakes to communicate clearly and as frequently as is

necessary to ensure that you obtain the greatest benefit from the use of the
myModules learning management system. Please access the
announcements on your myModules site regularly, as this is where your
lecturer will post important information to be shared with you.

• When you access your myModules site for the module/s you are registered for,
you will see a welcome message posted by your lecturer. Below the welcome
message you will see the assessment shells for the assessments that you need
to complete. Some assessments may be multiple choice (MCQ), some tests,
others written assessments, some forum discussions, and so on. All
assessments must be completed on the assessment shells available on
the respective module platforms.

• To complete quiz assessments (MCQ assignments), please log on to the

module site where you need to complete the assessment. Click on the relevant
assessment shell (Assessment 1 or Assessment 2, etc.). There will be a date on
which the assessment will open for you. When the assessment is open, access
the quiz online and complete it within the time available to you. Quiz
assessments are only made available online. You must therefore access the
quiz online and complete it online where the quiz has been created.

• It is not advisable to use a cell phone to complete the quiz. Please use a
desktop computer, tablet or laptop when completing the quiz. Students who
use a cell phone find it difficult to navigate the Online Assessment tool on the
small screen and often struggle to navigate between questions and successfully
complete the quizzes. In addition, cell phones are more vulnerable to dropped
internet connections than other devices. If at all possible, please do not use a
cell phone for this assessment type. (Since the examination is also an MCQ
assessment, you should also not use a cell phone in the examination.)

9.4.1 Types of assessments (assignments) and descriptions

All assignments are defined as either optional, mandatory, compulsory, or elective.

• Elective assignments
- If not submitted, the student gets no mark for this item.
- The best of the required submissions will count.

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• Mandatory assignments
- If not submitted, the student gets no mark for this item.
• Compulsory assignments
- If not submitted, the result on the student’s academic record will be absent.
• Optional assignments
- You are encouraged as a student to do optional assignment so that it may benefit
your learning.

I. Elective assignments
There are no elective assignments in PVL2602.

II. Mandatory assignments

a. Contribute to the semester mark.
b. If a student fails to submit a mandatory assignment, no mark is awarded and the
semester mark is calculated accordingly. The student will therefore forfeit the marks
attached to this assignment when the final mark for the module is calculated.

There are two mandatory assignments in PVL2602.

III. Compulsory Assessment

a. When not submitted, the student will fail a Continuous Assessment module but will
be shown as absent from the examination in the case of other modules.

The examination at the end of the semester is a compulsory assessment.

IV. Optional assignments - You are encouraged as a student to do optional assignments

so that it may benefit your learning.

There is one optional assignment in PVL2602.

9.5 The assessments

As indicated in section 9.2, you need to complete 2 assessments for this module. Details
on the assessments are available on myUnisa.
There are no assessments (assignments) included in this tutorial letter. Assignments
and due dates will be made available to you on the myModule site for this module. We
envisage that the due dates will be available to you upon registration.

9.6 The examination

Examination information and details on the format of the examination will be made
available to you online via the myUnisa site. Look out for information that will be shared
with you by your lecturer and e-tutors (where relevant) and for communication from the
university.

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9.6.1 Invigilation/proctoring

Since 2020 Unisa conducts all its assessments online. Given stringent requirements from
professional bodies and increased solicitations of Unisa’s students by third parties to
unlawfully assist them with the completion of assignments and examinations, the University
is obliged to assure its assessment integrity through the utilisation of various proctoring
tools: Turnitin, Moodle Proctoring, the Invigilator App and IRIS. These tools will authenticate
the student’s identity and flag suspicious behaviour to assure credibility of students’
responses during assessments. The description below is for your benefit as you may
encounter any or all of these in your registered modules:

Turnitin is a plagiarism software that facilitates checks for originality in students’

submissions against internal and external sources. Turnitin assists in identifying academic
fraud and ghost writing. Students are expected to submit typed responses for utilisation of
the Turnitin software.

The Moodle Proctoring tool is a facial recognition software that authenticates students’
identity during their Quiz assessments. This tool requires access to a student’s mobile or
laptop camera. Students must ensure their camera is activated in their browser settings
prior to their assessments.

The Invigilator “mobile application-based service” does verification of the identity of an

assessment participant. The Invigilator Mobile Application detects student dishonesty-by-
proxy and ensures that the assessment participant is the registered student. This
invigilation tool requires students to download the app from their Play Store (Google,
Huawei and Apple) on their mobile devices (camera enabled) prior to their assessment.

IRIS Invigilation software verifies the identity of a student during assessment and provides
for both manual and automated facial verification. It has the ability to record and review a
student’s assessment session. It flags suspicious behaviour by the students for review by
an academic administrator. IRIS software requires installation on students’ laptop devices
that are enabled with a webcam.

Students who are identified and flagged for suspicious dishonest behaviour arising from
the invigilation and proctoring reports are referred to the disciplinary office for formal
proceeding.

Please note:

Students must refer to their module assessment information on their myModule sites to
determine which proctoring or invigilation tool will be utilised for their formative and
summative assessments.

PVL2602 uses the Moodle Proctoring Tool.

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10 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
10.1 Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of taking the words, ideas and thoughts of others and presenting them
as your own. It is a form of theft. Plagiarism includes the following forms of academic
dishonesty:

• Copying and pasting from any source without acknowledging the source.
• Not including references or deliberately inserting incorrect bibliographic information.
• Paraphrasing without acknowledging the original source of the information.

10.2 Cheating

Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Completing assessments on behalf of another student, copying the work of another

student during an assessment, or allowing another student to copy your work.
• Using social media (e.g. WhatsApp, Telegram) or other platforms to disseminate
assessment information.
• Submitting corrupt or irrelevant files; this forms part of examination guidelines
• Buying completed answers from so-called “tutors” or internet sites (contract
cheating).

For more information about plagiarism, follow the link below:

https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-Unisa/Student-values-and-rules

10.3 Academic matters

All module content-related enquiries must first be addressed to the relevant module
lecturers. As already indicated above, all such enquiries must be made from your
[email protected] email account. Where your module lecturer(s) is unable to assist, such
enquiries can be escalated to the Chair of the Department in which your module is located.
The Chair of the Department is the one with the power to resolve issues, is authorised to
make such interventions, and has the final say in matters relating to the administration of a
module. Such escalation must be done via the departmental administrative staff.

Contact information for all the departmental administrative staff in the department is
captured below.

Name Email address

Adv LS Ntsoane (Chair of Department) [email protected]
Ms TT Mapokgole (Admin) [email protected]

Ms HD Mabena (Admin) [email protected]

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 PVL2602 /101/3/2024

10.4 Administrative matters

The contact information for all administrative departments is included on pages 8-9 of this
Tutorial Letter. Please address any administrative issues (for example, registration issues,
finance-related issues, graduation issues, auditing of a qualification, etc.) with the relevant
support department and not the college.

You can also contact the College of Law’s Information Centre, who will direct your query to
the correct administrative department.

Ms Thandi Seromo [email protected] / 012 429 4718 is the contact person for the
Information Centre.

11 STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES

The Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities (ARCSWiD) provides an
opportunity for staff to interact with first-time and returning students with disabilities.

If you are a student with a disability and would like additional support or need additional
time for assessments, you are invited to contact the Advocacy and Resource Centre to
discuss the assistance that you need.

For information on special assistance for students with disabilities, please use one of the
numbers or the e-mail address listed below:
Tel: 012 429 6923/6924/3829
E-mail: [email protected]
A student with a disability who requires special examination arrangements must apply
annually, in writing, before 28 February for the May / June examination period, and 31 July
for the October / November and January / February examination periods. A medical
certificate specifying the nature of the disability must accompany the application. The
application, setting out the special requirement(s), must be submitted by e-mail
to [email protected] (student number must appear in the subject line). Students
who do not apply for extra time within the stipulated dates cannot be accommodated.

12 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Consult the module website for answers to all your questions.

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13 IN CLOSING
We wish you all the best with your studies and we trust that you will enjoy the study of the
Law of Succession!

©
Unisa 2024

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